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Tuesday, June 23, 2015

So You Want To Hear God

Something
had to change. I refused to live a minute longer in the muck and mire my life
had become, so I made a decision. Determined, I stood up straight, sniffled
away the sobs, and then phoned my mother.

“Mama? I’m
going to the chapel to pray, and I’m not coming out until I hear from God! If
you want to bring me some bread or water in the next few days, that’d be great.
I’ll appreciate it.” She could most likely still hear I’d been weeping.

“Oh,
Caryl.” Well aware of the fights with my husband and the pressure of our paving
company’s financial woes, she empathized fully with her dearly loved firstborn.
I could hear it in her voice. “I’m sorry. Are you sure that’s what the Lord
wants you to do?” She was probably thinking of our four children and how they
would manage without me, but it seemed to me that my sanity was what I needed to
be most concerned with, and her question served as that old proverbial straw!

“No,
Mother! Of course, I’m not sure!” Without a doubt she had to hold the receiver
away from her ear, but could still hear at arm’s length. I battled a bad temper
since forever, a paternal generational curse. “Aren’t you listening to me? Did
you hear a word I said? I can’t hear anything from God. I’ve been praying and
praying and praying, and I hear NOTHING!

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them,
and they follow me: John 10:27

I slammed down the phone and went
for my purse and the car keys. Before I got to the door, the phone rang. I’ve
never been one not to answer a ringing phone. It seemed rude.

“Hello?” I tried to sound as sweet
as I could.

“Caryl? Honey, I thought I might
share with you what the Lord showed me to do through His Word when I really
needed to hear from Him. Would you like to hear it?”

“Sure, Mama.” I dropped my purse to
the floor where I stood and stared at the ceiling. What she told me that day
has impacted my life in a wonderful way. A simple, fool-proof, Bible-based way
to get an answer from the Lord.

“Okay. All those voices in your
head come from three sources only. The first is yourself, it’s your mind
speaking, reasoning with your spirit man; sometimes called your flesh. You’re
probably most familiar with it. Second is the Voice of God through His Holy
Spirit, teaching, guiding, comforting. That’s the voice that always encourages
you to do what’s right and show love to everyone. Thirdly, you hear from the devil or his powers
and principalities. Some people call them demons, and they’re not so wrong.

“So the first thing you want to do
when you really want to hear from God is to pray. Repent of any known or
unknown sin. Go boldly into God’s throne room and right up to the steps because
you are sinless now, covered by Jesus’ blood. Say something like, ‘Father, I
really need an answer to my question today. But according to Your Word, I do
not want to lean to my own understanding or ability to reason. I only want to
hear Your wisdom, so in Jesus’ name, I lay my flesh down before You and ask
that You silence it. I do not trust in anyone but You, and I only want to hear
Your Voice.”

“Keep in mind this is all by faith.
You have to believe that God will silence your inner voice.”

“I will, Mama. Then what?”

“Next, we need to address the
demonic forces that would lie and lead you astray from God’s will and plan for
your life.”

“Yes, yes. How, Mama?”

She was so sweet and patient as
always. “God’s word says that whatever we bind on earth will be bound in Heaven
and whatever we loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven. Believing that Truth,
you need to bind Satan and any of his powers, principalities, and minions from
speaking to you. Say something like, ‘In Jesus’ name and by His power, it is
written that I have the authority to bind and loose, so right now, I bind Satan
and any of his emissaries from speaking to me so that my ears will only be open
to the Words of my God. You all are bound and cannot speak to me when I ask the
Lord my question.’ Then again, by faith, believe it is done according to the
Word.”

“I can do that. Then what?”

“That’s all.”

“That’s all?”

“Absolutely. Ask your question and
know that the next voice you hear is God’s.”

“But that sounds so easy.”

“Things don’t have to be so
complicated and hard as often try to make them. Works every time I’ve done it.
The father of lies tells us everything is too hard and won’t work. Resist the
devil and he will flee. That’s what the Bible says.”

So I believed the Word, and proceeded to do all that Mama told me
to. Faith had not been a problem in so long I couldn’t remember because God
so proved Himself over and over again in my life. I knew that I knew He was
able and His Word was true. When I got to the end of binding the devil and his
cohorts, the strangest sensation I ever encountered came over me.

It was as though someone had turned
off the TV in my head. You know, like at night and the TV’s blaring even though
everyone else in the house is asleep. And when you turn it off, it’s so extra
silent? That’s how it was.

My mind was empty, no thoughts, no talking up there.
Just dead quiet. Weird! I mean it, the weirdest.

I proceeded to ask my question.
“Lord, what do you want me to do?”

My answer came as clear as a bell’s ding-a-ling.

I believe when we love Him, we only want His perfect will for our lives. We'll do anything A*N*Y thing if we know it's God telling us. It’s funny to think that was
thirty years ago. Mama’s been with Jesus eighteen years, but her wisdom offered that day, her Godly advice to a hurting daughter has
helped me so many times since that I can’t even count.

God cannot be put in a box or formulated, but He has bound Himself by His Word, and this is Truth according to His Word. I continue to hear God’s
voice and do my best to walk in obedience. That's how I show Him how much I love Him.

Praying my story gives God glory!

NEW RELEASES: May - Sins of the Mothers, Book Four in the historical Christian Texas Romance series / June - Story & Style, The Craft of Writing Creative Fiction a guide for aspiring or multi-published authors / July - One and Done, contemporary Red River Romance with a Texas Ranger pitcher for its hero just in time for the All Star break!

Caryl McAdoo currently writes three series: the
historical Christian ‘Texas Romance’; a contemporary ‘Red River Romance’; and
The Generations, her Biblical fiction. The novelist loves singing new songs the
Lord gives her, and she paints. In 2008, she and her high school
sweetheart-husband Ron moved from the DFW area—home for fifty-five years—to the
woods of Red River County. Caryl counts four children and fourteen grandsugars
life’s biggest blessings believing all good things come from God. Praying her
story gives God glory, she hopes each one will also minister His love, mercy,
and grace to its readers. Caryl and Ron live in Clarksville, the county seat,
in the far northeast corner of the Lone Star State.

10 comments:

We all need to hear this at one point or another, right? I know those seasons where it SEEMS like your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling, but He is always there and we just press in and He will help us. Ever faithful with His never ending love!

Amen, Cass! She so loved the Lord and was such a precious, patient servant to us all. At her passing, she had 30+ family members including all three children + spouses, all 14 granchildren, and various nieces and nephews living within ONE MILE from her. EVERYone loved her so! And I was most blessed of all to be her firstborn :)

You had a very wise mother. I was blessed with one too. My mom raised 5 children and then she and my dad were full time house parents for a home for troubled girls and they fostered and cared for over 300 girls while they were there.